Nadia Beller accuses Edmand Lara of leaking Fernando Cerimedo audio recordings, Digi Mart USA News (La Paz, Bolivia): Lawyer Nadia Beller, who remains at the Mexican Embassy in La Paz while awaiting a response on her asylum case, has named Vice President Edmand Lara as responsible for disseminating audio recordings attributed to former presidential adviser Fernando Cerimedo. She also said the recordings were made by Cerimedo himself, a former collaborator of President Rodrigo Paz.
In an interview with Radio Fides, Beller denied having access to the conversations and ruled out that she had distributed the material. Her statements follow reports linking her to the leak after images of alleged message exchanges with Cerimedo were published earlier.
Beller said she had maintained a romantic relationship with him.
“That can no longer be sustained as a hypothesis, since the vice president, Lara, has leaked them, a person with whom I have not agreed since the day he took office, and my position is very clear and expressed on social media,” she said. On the origin of the recordings, she added: “It is clear that he (Cerimedo) recorded the audio from his cell phone; I have no access to any of that.”
Beller also raised the possibility that Cerimedo released the audio to pressure the executive branch into freeing him. The Argentine former adviser is held at the maximum-security Chonchocoro prison, under investigation for an alleged attempted femicide against the lawyer and alleged money laundering.
“I even think, as many people have suggested, that he himself is leaking the audio to pressure the government into releasing him; he can clearly implicate them in very sensitive matters that would cost them at least their peace of mind,” she said.
The lawyer asked that the recordings be investigated by the prosecutor’s office and warned that if action is not taken now, the case could be examined later. She also said she will continue seeking justice and will not allow the events to go unpunished.
Regarding her stay at the Mexican diplomatic mission, Beller denied leaving Bolivia to evade justice. She said she faces no legal proceedings or investigations and requested protection because she believes there are no guarantees for her safety or that of her unborn child.
“They offer me guarantees of peace of mind and security for me and for the baby I am carrying. To date I have no investigation, and no proceedings have been initiated against me,” she said.
